Bacon, Cucumber And Face Palm Emoji May Be Added To iOS And Android This Year

Last week, the Unicode Technical Committee (UTC) accepted more than 30 characters as candidates for emoji to be integrated into messaging platforms, bringing the total to 74. When the UTC meets in the second half of 2016, it will determine which of the final emoji candidates will be added to Unicode 9.0 for release in June 2016. Some of the emoji that stands out in the new set includes a face palm, shrimp, a face with a cowboy hat, an eagle, a wilted flower, a cucumber, a handshake, a duck, a shark, a cucumber, a deer, an avocado, an egg, a tumbler glass, clinking glasses and a character taking a selfie.

Based on the Unicode Consortium’s timeline and previous emoji rollouts, BGR pointed out that it seems likely
Apple will add the new emoji through iOS 10 in September. But I believe that Apple will add the new emoji through iOS 10.1 in October followed by
Google Android in December.

As smartphones became ubiquitous over the last few years, communication using emoji has become very common. Emoji enable users to quickly express their feelings using a single character and conversations appear livelier with them. A simple smiling emoji indicates you are happy and a thumbs up emoji means approval. The addition of new emoji in iOS and Android software updates are usually welcomed by millions of people because it provides more expression options.

The Unicode Consortium said that the emoji included as candidates for Unicode 9.0 are based on requests, gender-matching pairs and compatibility with emoticons in existing platforms. For example, a “man in tuxedo” will be joining the existing bride emoji. A “Man Dancing” emoji will be joining the salsa dancing woman emoji in Apple iOS. And “Mother Christmas” will be joining the Santa Claus emoji. To complete the family set of emoji, a “pregnant woman” emoji has been added too.